Roethlisberger No, Bradshaw Yes

Maybe I went a bit too far when I went on Damon Bruce‘s show yesterday and said I’d “rather be in Egypt than Dallas right now,” but that’s how much I detest the two-week break before the Super Bowl, and all of the utter nonsense that accompanies it. Without question, I’d rather write about a bowling tournament in Livermore than be forced to come up with stories ABOUT NOTHING for two weeks on the Super Bowl site. At least there would be some action in front of me, and that pretty much explains why I always found baseball such a great sport to cover. There’s always a game, or one coming up the next day.

However. There was one Super Bowl Week story I found intriguing, and that was the long-standing feud between Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw. Apparently, they patched things up. Bradshaw, who didn’t mind being critical of Roethlisberger’s disgraceful off-field behavior, asked for a one-on-one sitdown (to be aired on Fox) and the two came to an understanding.

Whatever the two men feel about each other, that’s between them. I’m intrigued by the aesthetic comparison on the field — and I’ll take Bradshaw every time. As a pure winner, Roethlisberger measures up to anyone, including Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowls with the Steelers of the 1970s. In terms of style, though, Roethlisberger leaves me cold. He’ll never come close to the sight of Bradshaw cocking his right arm and launching a 40-yard rocket, right on target, to Lynn Swann or John Stallworth. A truly inspiring sight.

For the combination of arm strength and accuracy, I’d have to put Bradshaw up there with Dan Marino, John Elway and (don’t ever forget this man) Joe Namath. While the Jets were still alive in the playoffs, I heard some people lamely denigrating his Hall of Fame status. Either they’re blind, or they weren’t around at the time. Namath’s greatness was savagely curtailed by knee injuries. He engineered a lot of significant wins at a time when he could barely walk. Teammates raved about his toughness and leadership, and he threw one of the purest balls in history — bar none. An absolute textbook of form and release point. He belongs on any list of the greats.

3-DOTTING: Strange dynamic between Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke regarding Alex Smith – but probably not as divisive as it seems. While Baalke made a point of announcing that the 49ers’ next quarterback is not currently in their employ, Harbaugh talked publicly about Smith’s many virtues. Most likely, Harbaugh is trying to escalate Smith’s value, if a trade were to come down. The most sensible solution: Smith, well aware he’ll never make it here (especially in the fans’ eyes), uses that March 4 deadline to declare himself an unrestricted free agent — and sign somewhere else . . . There’s been a lot of talk about Aaron Rodgers, a Chico guy, spending a year at Butte College as an 18-year-old. He says much of leadership skills were honed at a class he took there from Russ Critchfield, who Cal alums might remember as a hustling, sharp-shooting guard for the Bears in the 1960s. Nice Berkeley connection there . . . For all the talk about Brett Favre and his filing official retirement papers, he’ll want back into the game by August. It’s just in his blood. And he can’t be happy with the mood surrounding his exit: unable to play, embroiled in a scandal of sexual shenanigans, and discovering that his sister was arrested in a meth-lab bust.

It’s a shame about Monta Ellis, but realistically, you can’t argue with any of the Western Conference All-Star choices, especially since Kevin Love has been named to replace Yao Ming. Ellis, Steve Nash, Zach Randolph and LaMarcus Aldridge simply ran up against too much talent. Not so in the East. The list pretty much expires after the 12 names chosen. Those left off — Josh Smith, Andrew Bogut, Raymond Felton, Carlos Boozer — won’t be missed in the slightest . . . So Magic Johnson claims the Lakers need to make a trade, but on that aging, expensive roster, the only real option is Andrew Bynum, whose contract (two years left, $31.5 million) could be handled by certain teams. They have to at least consider that, because Bynum can’t stay healthy and doesn’t strike anyone as a center who could play 82 (or even 70) games . . . A more interesting critique from a Laker legend came from Jerry West, who says the Lakers are too old to play good defense. Not sure about that, come playoff time . . . Without mentioning Carmelo Anthony‘s name, Mark Cuban said he’d be open to renting a player (then letting him walk) for a half-season. Cuban treats his players so well, Carmelo would have to be tempted to stay in Dallas. But his agent is telling everyone that Anthony will only agree to what he is owed — a three-year extension at $65 million — with the Knicks . . . People can’t seem to understand how Anthony could walk away from that kind of money — but then again, they didn’t understand Andrew Luck‘s decision to remain at Stanford, either. See, these guys are going to make millions. It’s an absolute lock. And they’d prefer to do so on their terms. So in the long run, they aren’t running away from anything. Contrast that to Gil Meche, who turned down a guaranteed $12 million to leave the Kansas City Royals and retire for good. Now, that’s an interesting view of one’s finances.